Games of the generation: Dave picks the seismic shifts

What were the games of the current generation? VG247′s staff pick their highlights of the past 8 years ahead of the PS4 and Xbox One launch. This time, Dave gets crushed in a tectonic shift of big ideas.

We’re dedicating this week to VG247′s personal games of the generation. We’ll post a different team member’s list each day, so stay tuned to see what we all thought.

What are the best games of the generation?

It’s a big question isn’t it? How do you even begin to approach it? What makes one game better or more significant than another? Well, I think that all depends on how you define words like “best” or “significant” in this context. There are so many parameters to consider and perspectives from which to approach this topic that it’s always going to be a subjective issue. No one really ‘wins’ a generation outright, but there are many games out there that affect us each in a personal manner, and enrich our hobby in new ways.

To me, the “best” games of any generation aren’t necessarily the most enjoyable, but those that bring wild new ideas to the table, inspire their competitors to do better, and persuade rival studios to think outside the box. I’ve decided to pick my five games based on that criteria. It’s worth pointing out that these aren’t in any significant order, or intended as definitive answers to the big question above, but they are five games that made me think differently about my hobby or the industry in a new light.

So without further stalling for time, here are my five games of the generation.

5. LittleBigPlanet
Creative elements in console games were around before Media Molecule unleashed its smiling toolbox onto the world in 2008, but they had never been delivered with such depth and finesse. While not as expansive as its sequel, the original LittleBigPlanet broke down the barriers of what it meant to be a ‘game.’ Core quest aside, the game could be whatever you wanted it to be, with a powerful suite of creative gadgets and gizmos that gave rise to a big community brimming with wild and wonderful ideas.

From its release and through several sequels, Media Molecule’s charming IP has left a trail of inspired followers in its wake, each eager to take a sloppy bite of the creation pie. Look to the industry today and you’ll an abundance of titles boasting creative elements in comparison to the previous generation. A quick name-check draws forth the likes of Trials Evolution, Terraria and Minecraft, each delivering creativity in unique ways.

But let’s forget games that allow you to build from the ground up for a second. You can even see LittleBigPlanet’s influence in games that offer only slight creative freedom. Since the game dropped, there has been a visible rise in titles that let players modify assets already present in the game, such as character creation or custom decals. These elements and the ability to build in games took an undeniable upswing after the launch of LittleBigPlanet and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s wasn’t a coincidence. All arguments aside, any game that gets young or typically passive minds thinking creatively is surely worthy of applause. That’s why it’s absolutely LBP has earned a place on my list.

4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Let’s be brutally honest here; Infinity Ward’s triggered something of a fierce, industry-wide trend when it dropped Call of Duty 4 on to the world in 2007. The seminal shoter was massively influential, even if some of you may see that trend as more of a plague. Every man, woman and their dog seemed hungry to rip off the game’s twitch, military template off without a hint of shame, but no game did cinematic warfare better than this at the time. Oh and that campaign is simply incredible, even to this day. Remember the TV studio shoot-out, the nuke twist, that stealth mission in Russia?

The plot was a masterclass in corridor pacing, with the tension ebbing and flowing just at the right moments to hold your interest. Incredibly, the story wasn’t utter waffle – I felt the studio saved that for Modern Warfare 2 – and the end result was a fitting homage to the militaristic action flick. Price’s ‘tache was pretty rockin’ too. Did I mention the stealth mission already? I did? Just checking. Throw in a superbly balanced and relatively sober multiplayer without the head-crushing mountains of shit exploding everywhere, and you have a well-rounded package that kept this particular critic hooked for a year after release.

It’s also worth noting the rolling XP-based progression mechanic and the ability to prestige, both of which have been copied in several franchises since. You can see Call of Duty 4′s influence in many titles today, even in the rival Battlefield series. I don’t even consider that a bad thing as developers of both franchises can learn a lot from one another, so this definitely isn’t a dig. Titanfall, Battlefield 4, Spec Ops: The Line and many other shooters have cribbed from Infinity Ward’s big book of ‘How to make your shooter exciting and engaging.’ Love or hate it, many walks of the industry owe Modern Warfare a debt.

3. Gears of War
I know that games like Kill.Switch and Winback introduced the ‘wider’ world to cover shooting as we know it today, but Gears of War made the notion sing. The game was considered a massive coup for Microsoft when it secured its Xbox 360 exclusivity in 2006, and when I look back now I feel that yeah, it certainly was. Why is it on the list? Well, just look at how many games have used the same cover-hugging tricks and techniques Epic Games brought to the table. You only need to look to Mass Effect 3, Uncharted 3, GTA 5 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution to see examples of games presenting new spins on the old format

Some would say that the mechanic has been over-used in the same way the Call of Duty format has been flogged over the years, but I see it more as a solution to a big problem. It’s a mechanic that makes for smoother transitions in 3D space, and in games where stealth is a factor you no longer have to clumsily navigate your avatar out of the enemy’s line of sight. You can now simply snap to cover and slide along walls, safe in the knowledge that you’re concealed.

The same goes for dodging hailstorms of bullets. Can you recall just how painful it was to hide from gunfire in games before snapping to cover was an option? You never quite knew if you were hidden or not and fucking up meant you could be killed in seconds without any room to reply. Confirming that you were hidden required a lot of edging your avatar around and manipulating the camera after every few steps to get a clear view around corners. Gears of War didn’t figure that conundrum out – again: see Winback and Kill.Switch – but it polished it to an attractive sheen that showed the world it could work. The rest is history.

2. GTA 4
Okay, stop hurling feces at me and I’ll explain why I’ve opted for the fourth game over GTA 5. Cast your mind back to Grand Theft Auto 3 and just try to remember how you felt when taking those first, mind-blowing steps into Liberty City. This was it man, the dream. It was a ‘real’, living city with odd-looking polygon people walking around, cars begging to be jacked and hell to be raised. It was like Rockstar North had delved into many of our minds and replicated what we thought the future of gaming would look like, but it was there in front of us, actually happening.

The PS2 game sparked a sandbox gold rush that would roll on for years through such series as Crackdown, Prototype, inFamous, Saints Row, Assassin’s Creed and many more. Despite GTA 4′s many flaws it still delivered a world that felt more believable and organic than those presented by the competition. I’m not saying the games listed above are bad – far from it, they’re each superb in their own ways – but Rockstar North remained unmatched in the world-building stakes.

Some people didn’t give two shits about things like Liberty City’s ‘working’ internet pages, the in-game phone, and many of its myriad mechanics, but chances are you found something special in that urban maze of decay that spoke to you. The sheer volume of options and tools in that play-space is still incredible to this day. To that end, I think GTA 4 was the kind of game that generated many ‘water-cooler’ moments. Conversations about how people tackled certain missions or insane rampages they exacted on the cops went on for months to years after the game released. You couldn’t escape it. Many of us didn’t want to.

Those emergent tales are more likely if a game world offers unbridled freedom and a vast tool-set to play around with. GTA 4 hit that bullseye with confidence. Years later, Rockstar North built upon that solid base to deliver GTA 5, a game that delivers a vast improvement in almost every aspect. So while Niko’s escapades may have soured the mouths of one-time fans since they came to pass, we can’t overlook just how significant that eye-opening jaunt into Liberty City has become.

1. Braid
Is this controversial? Maybe, but the list is in no specific order and like all the titles here I’ve chosen Braid for its wider impact and influence on the industry. It’s importance to modern gaming is simply immeasurable, even if you dislike Jonathan Blow and his game. The artistic, time-bending platformer charmed gamers with its beautiful art style and dreamy musical score, while the undercurrent of plot kept players guessing. Who was Tim really? Was he a frustrated lover or was he really the man who birthed the atomic bomb? Was he the hero or villain? I had never seen a game of Braid’s stature spark so much debate, yet I shouldn’t have been surprised.

After all, the indie scene had always proved populous on PC, yet the console market was yet to present the world with a suitable outlet for the creativity of solo coders and small teams. Xbox Live Arcade helped ease the issue, but the marketplace still needed that first, ground-shaking indie hit. When Braid came along it proved anyone, even the little guy could make their riches in the shark pool of the blockbuster circuit. You no longer required the publishing might of colossi like EA or Activision to make money in that arena. Financial and critical success could belong to anyone, even the cash poor. All you needed was an idea and the talent to pull it off.

Of course, we now know that in reality Xbox Live Arcade was a costly route to market, and certainly not the dream ticket we all thought it was once Jonathan Blow’s name started making the headlines. Even if you consider Braid’s runaway success an anomaly, it’s quite clear that it left a prominent mark on the industry. It appeared to open floodgates on both sides of the fence. On one side we saw a torrent of new, emerging independent talent rising up and getting their content out on consoles and Steam, while critics grew more accepting of the ‘curio’ title.

We now live in a world where Hotline Miami, The Stanley Parable, Gone Home, Dear Esther, Thomas Was Alone and Papers, Please are considered equals to the triple-a blockbuster juggernauts. They’re most certainly seen as headline-worthy across a wider range of sites. Indie games from relatively unknown coders or teams are no longer deemed a gamble, and many of us have stopped approaching them with preconceptions of lower quality. These teams are now respected as the artists, story-tellers and influential people that they are.

It’s impossible to pin this all on Braid alone, but I guarantee that Blow’s hit revealed a wider, brighter world to a significant amount of people out there. The game has since led me on to new, thought-provoking experiences across the years and has opened my eyes to wonderful things. I suspect I’m not alone in this either.

Well folks that’s all, I’m going to run for the nearest exit before the baying mob strips me of my skin and wears it as a rain smock. In case you did wonder, my ‘other’ games of the generation from an overall perspective include but are not restricted to Bayonetta, Dark Souls, Lost Odyssey, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Portal, The Walking Dead, BioShock, Journey, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Mass Effect 2 and more I’ve definitely forgotten.

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101 Comments

Good list. In terms of “redifining gaming”, one could also argue for Journey or Super Mario Galaxy, since one delivered a completely unrivaled experience (not so much “game” necessarily), whereas Galaxy defined (again) what a 3D platforming game could be and do.

First time playing a Fallout game. Started it without having a clue about the lore or anything regarding the Fallout universe. Saw some random youtube videos and was a bit hesitant at first, but when I escaped the vault 101, just wow!

The feeling of adventuring into the wild and unknown post-apocalyptic world had me pumped for the entire game.

I could immerse myself into the game and forget how the time went by. Not to mention the mods. I think I’ve finished the game 2-3 times and still want to replay it, being the supervillain this time. muahahahaha xD

I had a conversation about this a couple of days ago with a mate and it struck me that I could not think of a single title that stood head and shoulders above everything else like Resident Evil 4 did for me the previous generation.

Its not that the quality of titles is lacking and its not that the influential titles are missing its just personally nothing has blown me away unlike multiple titles from the past. I can still remember the day I got Metal Gear Solid 1 after waiting 6 odd months from the US release, entering the village for the first time in RE 4. Theres been nothing like that this generation for me. At a push my games of this generation would be the games that I feel deeply in love with over and above the games that changed things.

1. Uncharted 2 – An almost perfect console game, with so much focus and love poured into it, its just a joy to play and stands up to repeat visits.

2. Bayonetta – Astounding depth of combat which leads into an ever increasing level of escalation and crazy.

3. Both Metro titles – Level design, atmosphere and a sense of place taken to such a degree that simply walk around its world became a pleasure, it took the moral systems seen in horrible Bioware games and refined them to work within gameplay and within the World, your actions are what affect the morality of your character not some binary choice in a menu.

4. Amnesia – Rebooted the entire horror genre after the major publishers completely abandoned it stating a lack of sales and no audience. The culmination of all the experiments in style and interaction Frictional worked on throughout the Penumbra series.

5. Dark Souls – Never under-estimate the player. Never assume that you need to make the story obvious, or need pop-up tutorials and every other simplification the industry has gone through. Make your game good enough and the community will band togethor and work everything out for themselves.

I quite agree on Fallout 3.
It felt like the first game in a series instead of a third one, although it could be called a reboot in some ways. The post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the game was simply amazing.
Gameplay-wise, New Vegas is miles better but I was more sucked in to the Capital Wasteland.

I’d put LA Noire into consideration, one of my favorite of this generation and a great way to use technology to enhance gameplay experience.

EDIT: Just noticed that you put Lost Odyssey in the end there, Dave.
That’s nice, people tend to not gave that game enough credit because it’s quite slow but it had one of the best story and characters in any RPG this gen and an amazing short story collection in the Thousand Years of Dreams.

My “GOTG” is Red Dead Redemption. One of the best stories i’ve ever played, a beautiful world with amazing detail and with John Marston one of the best characters in video game history if you ask me. Can’t wait for a new Red Dead on PS4!

@3 yeah. In conclusion, I think we’ve been graced with a generation full of great games (whether they brought new things to the table or not). Oh, and of course Braid kicked my ass and I loved every minute of it. I think it’s been long enough that I have forgotten most of the puzzles, so maybe time to replay it, this time on Steam.

Nice article Dave. You can look at the Games of a Generation in quite a few ways, so specifically saying you are picking out something like the Seismic Shifts is a good way to do it I think.

I’d have had Demon’s Souls in there certainly, but I can see why most of the rest are there. GTAIV is the exception – more because I don’t think it influenced things as much as the other titles you included. In a strange way I think it influenced stuff in a different way – GTAV is a better game because of lessons learned in what GTAIV did wrong not in improving what it did right for example.

For me, the original Assassin’s Creed trumps everything in this gen in terms of bringing an experience to the table that is unforgettable. Finally, we had a game where you could literally go anywhere you could see (except the water, who knew that assassins were such crap swimmers?), and a story that dared to touch on religion without pandering to it.

Those first few steps you took over the mountain and saw the whole of Jerusalem below you… Breathtaking.

It gave you a sense of freedom and a way of attacking that didn’t penalise you too harshly if you got the sneaky stuff wrong and had to go all-out in swordplay. AC2 was by far the better game, but the original will always hold a dear place in my heart.

Little Big Planet just strikes me as a more modern version of The Incredible Machine. I don’t see how it connects to Minecraft or Terraria. Minecraft was inspired by Infiniminer, and Terraria mixed Minecraft with Castlevania.

@42 When was the last time you downloaded a level? The process was a bit messy in LBP1, but the spotlighting features of LBP2 and LBPVita have been doing a stellar job of highlighting absolutely great levels for some time now.

@47 They’re definitely not the most accessible tools, but my stepson picked them up in new time and couldn’t get enough for the game for months. All he would do is create stuff day in and day out, stuff I’m personally nowhere near creative enough to come up with.

i love jump and run games but i just can’t get into lbp. the floaty jumps, the forced humour (to me it feels like that), the ‘oh look we’re all hip and unique’ artdesign. i respect peoples love for this game. i can see the potential but i personally tried to like it with every new installment…i haven’t finished one of them. not a fan. not. at. all.

Glad to see so much love for LBP. The best platformer this gen by a country mile imo.
And also, probably blessed with one of the most creative communities in any console game. The packaged levels are generally just an icing on the cake for me. Highlighted community levels are among the best in the games.
The community still keeps the game rocking after 3 years of release.

Creation I feel is an absolute blast to have fun with yourself. What you end up producing is irrelevant if you had fun creating it. One of my levels was a selection of Rockets I designed with various control mechanics. None of them were particularly successful but it was great fun doing it.

In terms of finding good levels the trick in the first was finding one good creator then following their hearts and like to more and more.

I think some you guys are kinda missing the point of LBP’s inclusion here.

There are possibly better examples of game with UGCs and obviously a lot of tighter platformers out there.
But LBP was to my knowledge the first that brought UGC sharing to the forefront on consoles. Mods used to be restricted to PCs and while LBP wasn’t the first game to include a level creator toolkit, it was I believe the first that made sharing UGCs easily.

Dave has stated that this list isn’t based on the quality of the game itself, but by how it acts as a game-changer to the industry as a whole.

I mean, even Hitman took a page out of LBP’s book. A bald assassin studying from an anthromorphic… something wasn’t something you’d expect no?

@51 I really enjoyed LBP also and particularly admire what it set out to do. I have yet to check out LBP2 but it certainly set a precedent for wide-open community driven content on a console game. It didn’t hurt that Media Molecule made a pretty endearing ‘blank canvas’ character in Sackboy, had better-than-anyone-expected level designers and managed to compile a sensational soundtrack and include Stephen Fry’s voicework into the package. Pitch-perfect, for the most part.

I’d not spent too much time with the games’ UGC but what I did see was quite engaging. (More so than what I saw in Infamous 2 – but the toolset was more restrictive in that game). It’s inappropriate to criticise the game for the imagination of its content creators. Finding that extra-special content was the key. But following the official channels and fan sites, it’s not hard to see some great stuff. And there was some very smart stuff produced that got reported when the game was enjoying its zeitgeist period. I understand the tools also improved in the sequel. But making something fun, no matter how good the tools are, is never going to be easy. Tools are simply a means to an end.

The reveal of the game seemed to be the start of a turning point in the PS3′s life. The signature title that people were looking for had appeared to surface. This picture, taken moments after the reveal and the comment made by a competitor that they felt LBP was “on the wrong console” shows just what a significant title it was for this generation.

I never owned a PS3 so I never played Little big planet, but it looked really good.

I don’t really agree with Gears of War 3, the game was beautiful and interesting, but I never loved it. I played through the entire series, and even bought Judgement, but It’s not a favorite game of this gen.

For me personally, the games of the generation were as follows (360 based)

Kameo – This game really showed what the next gen could do, gorgeous graphics with hundreds of characters on the screen at a time, all fighting and doing their own thing. I thought it was amazing.

Oblivion – I loved morrowind on Xbox, but it could never compare to the PC version. Oblivion was just amazing to me on console, it held me hostage for a long time.

Viva Pinata – I loved this game enough that I did everything to get every achievement, I can’t say that about any other game besides Oblivion (which was just following all the quests, really easy). My girlfriend loved watching me play it, and thought it was the coolest game she had ever seen until…

Alan Wake – The Cinematic atmosphere, the dark story, the graphics, everything about this game was class. The PC version is even better and just an amazing game.

Dragon Age:Origins – The music, the storyline, the atmosphere, made this series one of my favorite RPG’s of this gen.

Honorable mentions.

Deus Ex: HR – The gameplay and the atmosphere were top notch. One of the very best looking high res PC games by the way.

The Darkness – StarBreeze’s original was the best of the two, but both games are fun. The acting in the original grabbed you.

Condemned: Criminal origins – Dark and creepy, and disturbing and a blast to play.

Borderlands 2 – Only 3 games have had me so addicted that I have spent over 300 hours in gameplay, and this is one of them.

Bioshock – The entire series is great, all three games are favs. Bioshock 2 isnt as good story wise as the first, but it’s combat is better.Infinite’s ending blew me away.

Dead Space – Scary and action filled wwith Dread, the sequels were good but not as good as the original.

Call Of Duty 2 – The first time I played this on 360, I was blown away at it’s graphics and atmosphere.

Skyrim/Fallout 3, and Fallout:NV – The story in NV was amazing but the bugs in the game killed the game for me for a long time till it was heavily patched. Fallout 3 was more about exploration, and Skyrim was an atmospheric tour de force.

@64,
Rayman is great too. The art style is just fantastic.
However I think lbp edges just a little because of endless fantastic levels, the difference its community makes.
However, if they add UGC in Rayman, its over for lbp

But that’s the great thing about LBP and contributes so much to its landmark significance.

It has magic coming from all corners of the globe. Ready to enjoy and share and build upon. Magic created by users, unrestrained by corporate-controlled branding or committee-directed themes. It wasn’t required to follow a template or pre-existing rules of what is or isn’t allowed to feature. The magic wasn’t held under lock and key in Kyoto, it was shared with everyone and further sharing was encouraged and the tools for more magic were handed over to the gamers.

Magic doesn’t exist as a brand. It’s not owned by a corporation. LBP gave magic to everyone that wanted to make and share magic of their own.

It’s a game that reaffirms why I believe it’s so important to break away from the standard templates. To be bold enough to try a new and experimental approach. When successful, as LBP has been – as a game, as an experiment, as an IP – it sets a timeless precedent.

I like the theme of these games being game-changers as opposed to just looking at the top 5 in sales, especially since 4 of the 5 would be from the same franchise.

Gears was a system-seller for Xbox. My friend Mike, a longtime Playstation gamer like I had once been came over and tried Gears on co-op with me. Within the week he had an Xbox 360, and still prefers Xbox to this day (Has a XB1 pre-ordered). It was gameplay style as mentioned in the article, but also the unique visuals, unique world, and the connection to Delta Squad that you quickly form in the gritty gameplay. Gears 1 will always be one of my all-time favourites.

@77: that was written on a mobile phone not a wiiu pad. back to wiiu right now as you can clearly see.

@76: well if you think so. i disagree with that. i think it’s not half the masterpiece you are trying to make out of it. the game is first of all massmedia mainstream just like a mario or halo or uncharted. it plays it very safe in it’s core design. you are painting a picture of it as if it is the second coming. something truly groundbreaking. well, to me it was first of all an average game experience. it’s a soso game with some ugc elements on top of it and that’s it.
to me it was a game with very mediocore gameplay mechanics, playing it save artdesign, cheesy humour (in a bad way), a huge dose of try hard zeitgeist hipness to a level that completeley killed everything that tried to be creative and fun about it. again, i can understand that people will strongly disagree with this but well, these are my honest feelings after playing all the lbp games…i mean halfway through them at least. they bored the shit out of me.

Controls are pretty sloppy; it gets by on its art direction and how important people deem the user generated content. As a package though, it works and is helped along by the fact it’s an exclusive title.

The Vita is easily home to the best version IMO, and I find the PS3 games severely overrated. When I first saw the original unveiling, I must admit it blew me away. Then I played it… For a game the relies heavily on physics based platforming, Sack Boy himself seems to lack any real solidity or feeling like he belongs ‘to the world’.

Saying all that, it’s still the closest Sony have got in replicating a Nintendo like experience. Tearaway looks set to be the closest (interestingly another MM title).

Gears is the one that I don’t go along with, out of that list. (Braid might be another, except I’ve not played enough of it to oppose its inclusion on any ground.)

That Gears has inspired little more than terrible me-toos, (oh, and the fall from grace of a successful indie for its half-baked follow-up – that indie being, PEOPLE CAN FLY) and an absurd camera perspective from which your lug of a soldier blocks out most of the visible action on the screen, the upside of which, being that we get to witness these miraculous cloth textures on said lug’s clothing!

Though it’s admittedly fun to play (the first, at least. By the second I could take or leave it, tbh), what it represents is a blotch upon the progress of the generation – a point where the ink spilled, yet someone tried to carry on writing. Epic would drive Bleszinki’s baby into a dead-end, before the gen was out. Some legacy, for the games to worsen as more time and money was spent.

In Dave’s defense, Gears of War was a huge game, especially when it was first released. It set standards for graphics and featured third-person action that was soon cloned by other games. I can easily see this game being one that impacted the games industry.

@80 – SFIV very much revived the fighting genre. After SFIII, the genre was pretty much dead. Sure, SNK released yearly KOF titles for a while and 3D fighters were still a thing, but nobody wanted to make a big budget 2D/2.5D fighting game anymore. SFIV was a test. When it succeeded, suddenly we saw titles like BlazBlue, we saw titles like Injustice, the Mortal Kombat reboot, Guilty Gear was able to get a sequel after years of being ignored.

SFIV brought a genre from being niche to being profitable, almost single-handedly.

Of course, I believe it was improved upon greatly with Super SFIV, but still, the original version of SFIV did very much impact this gen strongly.

Vive manufacturer HTC said that it hopes to see Valve games, including Half-Life, on the virtual reality headset. Speaking to the BBC, HTC chairwoman Cher Wang said that Valve is keen on having its games available on the VR headset. “I think Valve’s best game is Dota, right, and Portal and [Team Fortress] and I […]

If you’re looking to buy a fell set of armour for your character in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate but keep falling short on Zenny, this video will show you an easy way to make lots of it. Arekkz Gaming has a very handy tip for all Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate players: how to make Zenny […]

Microsoft is giving everyone the ability to claim their free Xbox One Games with Gold titles from their Xbox 360 console, even without owning an Xbox One. If you don’t yet own an Xbox One and want to make sure you don’t miss out on all those free Games with Gold games, you’ll be pleased […]

Bungie has reset the weekly cap of Crucible and Vanguard marks and added new Heroic and Nightfall strikes, now with burn. From now until next Tuesday, the weekly Heroic strike will be The Devil’s Lair with Heroic and Lightswitch modifiers. As for the Nightfall, you’ll be fighting Sepiks Prime with the help of Arc burn. […]

The internet is full of Female Commander Shepard cosplay from Mass Effect, but very few are as terrific as this one. Visual artist Freya Willia has spent over two years painstakingly creating the perfect suit of armour and the best weapons to make her cosplay of Female Shepard as authentic as possible, Omni tool and […]

This week’s Deals with Gold titles for Xbox Live subscribers is a good mix of modern games and old favourites. The list of discounted games through this week’s Deals with Gold is live with discounts on Assassin’s Creed Unity, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, and more. The deals are live now […]

Destiny players regularly compare the size of their Grimoire Points. Learn how to make yours the biggest. Destiny guide: how to earn Grimoire Points In Destiny, earning most Grimoire cards is just a matter of playing the game, maybe a little more attentively than usual. You’ll either need to complete a certain number of actions […]

Shovel Knight owners will benefit from the generosity of Kickstarter backers quite soon. Because Shovel Knight was overfunded during its Kickstarter campaign, developer Yacht Club Games committed to releasing free content updates. The first of these, Plague of Shadows, has now been detailed. The expansion stars baddy Plague Knight, who turns on his former allies, […]

GTA has a long history of controversy. The latest Did You Know Gaming tells the full stories behind the sensational headlines. Grand Theft Auto is such a byword for controversy that it’s easy to forget the full context of what actually happened to bring mainstream press, politicians and interest group awareness to the Rockstar series. […]

PlayStation Now will expand to the tune of five new games this month. The March PS Now additions are Infamous 2, Twisted Metal, R-Type Dimensions, Alone in the Dark: Inferno and Operation Flashpoint: Red River. PS Now will set you back $20 per month or $45 for a three month subscription. It offers all you […]

Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster hits PS4 in May. The PS4 release date for Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster is May 12 in North America and May 15 in Europe. Gematsu reports a special pre-order bonus calendar with art by Yoshitaka Amano is available through the Square Enix Store and participating retailers. In Europe, pre-ordering […]

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare players can now aspire to the ranks of Grand Master Prestige. Advanced Warfare developer Sledgehammer Games will add 15 more Prestige levels to the latest Call of Duty, giving players at max XP a chance to grow even further. According to the Sledgehammer Games blog, when you enter Master level […]

Destiny’s toughest challenge gets even nastier if you throw Creepers into the mix. The ultimate Destiny challenge – for now – is the Crota’s End raid. Taking place in an alternate dimension accessed through the Hellmouth on the Moon, the Raid takes Guardians through a pit of darkness to the resting place of Crota himself. […]

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D protagonist Shulk is the Heir to the Monado, his distinctive red sword. Let this trailer fill you in on what that means. Xenoblade Chronicles 3D releases for New 3DS on April 2 in Europe and April 10 in North America. As well as all the content of the Wii original, it has […]

The Elder Scrolls: Total War is a terrific mod allowing you get get intimately involved with the history of Bethesda’s detailed fantasy universe. The first release of The Elder Scrolls: Total War dropped on the weekend, giving players their first chance to try out LoRdNazgu1‘s creation. This version runs from 3E 427 to 4E 45, […]

Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 is out now. Yes, we’re surprised too. You can grab Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 on Steam for $8. Developer Scott Cawthon really doesn’t mess about; the game was only announced in early January. Here’s the blurb: Thirty years after Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza closed it’s doors, the events that took […]

EVE Online is a hotbed of villainy, espionage and backstabbing, but one intrepid corporate thief has made waves even in this setting. The thing about EVE Online is that it’s a true sandbox: the game’s rules are very loose, and allow players to make careers out of theft, piracy, assassination and espionage in addition to […]

Nintendo of America has announced a fresh supply of the difficult to find Marth Amiibo. The Marth Amiibo will be back in stock in the US in late April, the platform holder said on Twitter today. Planning to pick up Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. and don’t have a Marth amiibo? More are headed to stores in […]

Skyrim has been granted a new beta update – more than three years after launch! – to improve the experience for modders and those who use them. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released in November 2011. I think that’s worth noting before we discuss the beta update that dropped today, even as Bethesda is working […]

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is very serious business so please enjoy this very serious trailer. “Return to the dicey world of Knights of Pen & Paper for a new turn-based adventure, where players get to take on the role of players, and also of the game’s encounter-designing, rules-laywering GM in a fully customizable […]

Amplitude may have been delayed but we still get something this March: a fine new gameplay trailer. Amplitude is coming to PlayStation 3 and PS4 sometime in northern summer. It’s a reprisal of Harmonix’s classic rhythm action game, a forerunner to its later efforts with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and was crowdfunded. Update: Turns […]

DayZ creator Dean “Rocket” Hall has dropped the first vague details of his new game project. “I do not want to make safe games. I do not want to make games the way we have been making them. What if the most experienced video game staff in the world collaborated on the most esoteric and […]

AMD has confirmed what most Battlefield fans thought. Battlefield Hardline will indeed support Mantle. Battlefield Hardline will support Mantle, AMD has confirmed. Some players weren’t sure whether the retail version of the game will support AMD’s API, due to its absence from the recent PC beta. AMD did not say whether the feature will be […]

Unreal Engine 4 is a pretty versatile bit of tech, as this new sizzle reel shows. As one of the more ubiquitous engines, Unreal will be on show at GDC this week. Developer Epic produced the following sizzle reel to quickly demonstrate what it can do – cutting edge graphics (there are very few games […]

The latest Survarium patch has readjusted the value of experience and reputation points gained and removed the limit to the maximum amount of ammo you can use in combat. Survarium developer Vostok Games has released patch 0.27a to the public, having recently finished testing it. The patch is a major one and covers changes to […]

Bloodborne is so close you can almost smell its coppery tang on the wind – and also you can watch commercials for it. Bloodborne arrives on PS4 at the end of this month (March 24 North America, March 25 Europe, March 27 UK) so excitement is starting to build. Sony isn’t helping keep us calm […]

Blizzard will soon allow World of Warcraft players to exchange in-game gold for game time and vice versa. Blizzard has announced a new system that will launch soon for World of Warcraft. The system is called WoW Token. Using this system, players will be able to buy game time using in-game gold. Here’s how it […]

Remember 3D Realms’ Bombshell? The isometric ARPG that was announced last year? Well, it’s back, and we get to see gameplay footage. The game stars Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, a bomb technician turned mercenary with a mechanical arm. She will embark on a quest to rescue the president and save Earth, all while shooting aliens. The […]

Epic Games has made Unreal Engine 4 available for anyone to download and use, for free. Unreal Engine 4 is now free. Anyone can download it and start using it, the developer announced today in a blog post. The download features the the full set of tools used by Epic, and includes 100% of the […]

The winner of the European round of the Call of Duty Championship has been announced. This past weekend, 28 teams representing UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, the rest of Europe and Middle East attended the final of the European round of the Call of Duty Championship. UK team Epsilon eSports was crowned […]

GOG.com is bringing back its Insomnia sale event with even more games. GOG’s Insomnia sale is back with double the amount of games. This year, there will be two sets of games available at once. The sets are seasoned classics and fresh new titles. Each set will feature games with discounts up to 90% off, […]

2K will be shutting down the servers for NBA 2K14 this month. The publisher revealed yesterday that online servers for NBA 2K14 will be turned offline on March 31. “You will no longer be able to play ranked games/online association,” reads the announcement. NBA 2K14 relied on online servers to store save files for MyCareer […]

A Dead or Alive tournament organiser has suggested a soft ban on some of the game’s “over-sexualised” costumes, and not everyone is happy. Tournament organiser “The HuBBs” took to the FreeStepDodge forums to suggest a list of rules that other offline tournaments can follow. The list goes over stages, characters, moves, which is certainly in […]

Bungie hosted an open house Q&A session with the community last week and lots of exciting news have come out of it. Arekkz Gaming has gathered all the information that came out of Bungie’s open house Q&A in one handy video. The list is massive, going over Exotic weapon balance, upcoming events, PVE, Crucible rewards, […]

Developers behind space exploration games Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen will honour the memory of Leonard Nimoy through in-game memorials. The develops of both games have confirmed separately that in-game memorials will be established to honour the memory of the late Star Trek actor, Leonard Nimoy, famous for playing Spock. Elite: Dangerous executive producer Michael […]

Amazon’s latest PlayStation 4 deal is not one to miss. With purchase of a PlayStation 4 console from Amazon in the US, the online retailer will throw in digital codes for Infamous Second Son, Killzone Shadow Fall and The Last of Us: Remastered, all for the same MSRP of $399. The Last of Us Remastered […]

The method one Redditor possibly used to leak some details from Destiny’s House of Wolves was the same one he used to predict the inventory of Xur: Agent of the Nine. Last week, Reddit user Megamanexe4 leaked a few pieces of House of Wolves expansion content. The leaks included strikes, new Crucible mode, and a […]

Mortal Kombat X will be releasing on mobile devices in some form, just not the one you except. Mortal Kombat X is coming to Android and iOS devices as an extension of the main game. It will launch in April alongside the console versions. The mobile game will be part card collecting and part fighting […]

Kojima Productions will unveil something about Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain this Wednesday. Metal Gear Solid fans should standby for a Phantom Pain-related announcement on Wednesday, March 4. According to developer Kojima Productions’ Twitter, there’s going to be an announcement at 2pm GMT on Wednesday. The developer posted the following image. The image […]

We’d really appreciate it if you could fill in this survey about the websites you read and the games you buy. It massively helps! You can fill out the survey right here and obviously all the information you supply is confidential. It helps us build a better picture of the people who read our site […]

Battlefield Hardline’s Premium membership will give players access to 4 new features, early access to expansion packs and more. EA detailed the offer today – it costs $50 in total (£40 in the UK) and gives players a whole bundle of new gear and content. Check it all out in handy list form below: Masks […]

Voice actor and Hollywood writer David Hayter discusses the differences between movies and games. And politely declines my leading question. “It might be fun to do a crazy, over-the-top film version of Saint’s Row.” Yeah, that headline is a bit cheap but you’re reading the work of a man who once asked the maker of […]

Microsoft has knocked up to £100 off Xbox One bundles in the UK. The Xbox One with Kinect Assassin’s Creed bundle is now £100 cheaper and comes with a free £20 voucher to be spent on the official Microsoft online store. Over on the Xbox online store there’s a £70 price cut on the white […]

Free-to-play 3DS title Pokemon Shuffle has been downloaded over 1 million times. As a reward for playing the match-3 puzzle game Nintendo has gifted players a Complexity -1 item for free. The item reduces the difficulty of a level, according to Eurogamer. By all accounts Pokemon Shuffle is a cynical game with poorly implemented microtransactions. […]

FrozenByte Games has revealed Trine 3, due for release in 2015 And what better way to reveal a new side-scrolling adventure than with a very pretty trailer full of gameplay? The latest in a series that has already sold 7 million copies is earmarked for PC and “other” formats. Trine 2 released on PS3, PS3, […]

A month since it was released on digital platforms, Dying Light’s physical release has topped the UK charts. Techland and Warner’s zombie survival game has proven to be one of the big hits of the year so far. It was released on digital formats a month ago but has only just been released on good-old […]

Think you can take down a jet plane with a grenade throw? This guy can. In fact, he can do it twice. This is in a variation on the player-created deathmatch “Stunters Versus Snipers” which seem to be all the rage in GTA Online at the moment. One team has a sniper rifle (and grenades) […]

The Phantom Pain looks nice even when Kojima just takes a quick pic with his phone. Look at that beauty. We get nice reflection in pink at the first gray of dawn.
pic.twitter.com/aERTBoZT9z — HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 2, 2015 The game doesn’t have a release date yet, which makes us a bit nervous for it […]

Dying Light still has legs – maybe because it’s crammed full of secret things to discover. Ten of those have been highlighted by TerraMantis’ latest YouTube video, including reference to the Underpant Gnomes, guitar lessons, farting zombies and well, we don’t want to spoil it for you. Even if you think you’ve seen everything in […]

Why blind ‘em with science when you could kill ‘em with dance moves? revelations raid When I say Resident Evil: Revelations 2‘s Raid Mode dance gestures are deadly, I’m not being figurative. If you finish the first chapter of Revelations 2 you can unlock Gina for use in Raid Mode. All characters can use gestures […]

“Male Inquisitors can now scale the wall,” says a clever Redditor. A new Dragon Age: Inquisition mod removes Blackwall’s romantic restrictions, allowing male Inquisitors to chat up the fuzzy-faced warrior. Blackwall doesn’t have any race preferences, so you’re good to go there. Dragon Age: Inquisition romance mods are pretty common by now, and to be […]

Destiny players willing to faff about with their system clock can solo the Weekly Nightfall if they prefer. The Weekly Heroic is one of Destiny‘s toughest challenges. Responding to player feedback Bungie implemented matchmaking for the Weekly Heroic, but there are players who genuinely prefer to go it alone. There’s now no legitimate way to […]

A Clayfighter remake is inbound, apparently. Interplay has announced a Clayfighter remaster, combining the content of all past games into one package. Features include: Characters such as Bad Mr. Frosty, Blue Suede Goo, Earthworm Jim, Hoppy, Boogerman, Tiny – and more with over 20 characters total Over 20 familiar environments from the series to duke […]

Dying Light players! Are you sick of picking your way carefully up the sides of tall towers? Have I got a trick for you. The parkour system in Dying Light is okay, but climbing anywhere especially high can be a bit tedious. Enter Jesse Lester, who took a look at the tools available and worked […]

Destiny developer Bungie won’t stop tinkering with Exotic weapons. In Destiny, Exotic weapons are supposed to be the best of the best – and to feel unique. Guns like Ice Breaker and Gjallahorn definitely hit the mark there (although less so when everyone has one), but unfortunately, there are a few that just don’t strike […]

Uncharted 4′s first proper trailer bears some remarkable similarities to the opening moments of a much earlier Naughty Dog game. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has more in common with Crash Bandicoot than you might think. It’s Naughty Dog’s first game on a new console, yes – but if you compare Uncharted 4′s E3 2014 […]

Sonic Team leader Takashi Iizuka has said there are no plans to stop making Sonic games. Sonic hasn’t retired from the ranks just yet. “Please rest assured, I personally have no plans to stop making Sonic games for home consoles,” Iizuka told 4Gamer [Japanese]. The comment arose after the site asked if Sonic would become […]

Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones will soon be available on PlayStation platforms, if a trophy list is to be believed. Stealth Inc. 2 initially launched as a Wii U exclusive, disappointing fans of Curve Studios’ tough action game. We’ve heard nothing to contradict this, but Exophase, a generally reliable source, has dug up […]

Runescape developer Jagex is working on something new. According to Jagex’s careers page, the developer has a new, unannounced game in the works. Its advertisement for a lead programmer makes explicit mention of an “undisclosed MMO”. The ad mentions the new title is in “the preliminary stages of redefining the cross platform MMORPG genre” and […]

Destiny developer Bungie has said it will change the way Crucible rewards work. Destiny players are always complaining about the perfidy of RNGesus, but there’s one area where it particularly hurts: the Crucible. PvP players often receive nothing at all for excellent performances, and sometimes Guardians receive the best drops merely for logging in as […]